


Five Wolves, A Baby & His Changeling Twin

by MagpieMorality



Series: Writepie Prompt Fills [49]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Changeling Roman, Child Abandonment, Dragon-ish Deceit, Found Family, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mostly soft though, human remus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:21:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22959358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagpieMorality/pseuds/MagpieMorality
Summary: Breaking new: Local Werewolf pack adopt human baby and changeling twin abandoned in forest; whatever will happen next?
Series: Writepie Prompt Fills [49]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1638634
Comments: 109
Kudos: 250





	1. Congratulations!

**Author's Note:**

> From this excellent prompt:
> 
> Local werewolf pack adopted a changeling baby and their human “twin” with Roman and Remus, with the other sides being the werewolves? Please not *too* much angst, I just think it’d be kinda funny (maybe Roman is the changeling too, just for fun. If you want)

“Say, what’s that you got there, Patton?” Logan asks, voice dripping with forced casual interest. His expression doesn’t match- the raised eyebrow and pursed lips imply that a) he already knows and b) he is _not happy about it_. Virgil, on four legs today, presses against Logan’s leg, sniffing the scents from inside Patton’s den. Logan rubs the short fur between his eyes in reassurance but doesn’t take his gaze off Patton, who is squirming under the weight of it.

“Um, ah, well you _see_ -”

“Is that a _human_?!” Remy yells from somewhere outside, soon trying to squeeze past Logan to get a better look. Logan holds him back with a sigh, snapping at him with the undercurrent of a growl when Remy persists. The other wolf whines, but crouches back out of the way.

Inside the cave a small voice whimpers uncertainly in response to the noise. Logan pinches the bridge of his nose. “Patton. Why do you-”

_Another voice joins the first._

Everyone, including Patton, goes utterly still. And then before Patton can stop him Logan moves him to the side where Virgil promptly leans heavily against him to keep him still, revealing the hidden child _ren_ inside.

Remy whistles softly. Two small boys, identical apart from the way one’s eyes glow in the darkness, stare back at them from the gloom of the den. Only one of them smells human though, and three noses- two human and one wet and wolfy- lift to try and figure out the second boy. Patton winces, wriggling out from Virgil’s press to soothe the scared looking twins. He cuddles them both close, nuzzling the tops of their curly heads and looks back at Logan beseechingly.

“They’re only small. It was the Fae, something went wrong with a switch, the parents dumped the new one and the court wouldn’t taken him back and left both of them out in the forest alone. I couldn’t just leave them there!”

Virgil scuttles backwards at the mention of the Fae, dark ears flicking backwards as he disappears off to his own den. He’s had bad dealings with them in the past. Remy takes his place, reaching out to poke one of the boys, but Patton snaps at his fingers with his teeth bared, holding them both protectively close.

Logan watches it all happen impassively.

The Changeling boy keeps looking at him, bright eyes reading something in him that the human boy doesn’t. He’s a beautiful child of course- the Fae would deliver nothing less- and perhaps the switch really was bungled because there’s a certain sharpness to his face that implies something wasn’t quite finished off. He doesn’t have the same human warmth to his cheeks that the second boy does, and those glowing eyes are a concern. But despite that he trembles and clings to his… brother, and his new minder Patton, seeking the safety Patton has proven to provide.

“Where did you say you found them?” Logan asks, mind whirring with options.

Patton wilts, inferring incorrectly that he’s going to be ordered to leave them again. “They can’t survive alone, Logan, please let me just look after them- I’ll hunt for them and protect them and keep them in here until they’re older!”

“Patton you misunderstand me. If the Fae are making messes like this then we must keep an eye out, perhaps consult the border watchers just in case.”

“So…” Patton perks up slowly, glancing down at the boys with growing hope in his eyes. “I can keep them?”

Logan turns to head out of the den, Remy hurries out of the way. “You may keep them. Although I believe it would be more accurate to say that _we_ will be keeping them. Bring them out when they’re settled and we can do the introductions. And Patton?” He looks back over his shoulder from the entrance, a faint smile playing around his usually serious mouth.

“Yes?”

“Congratulations on becoming a father.”

Patton _glows_ with pride.


	2. Chapter 2

“No, Roman _no_ -” 

Patton hurries after the speedy toddler, trying to grab him before he reaches where Virgil is sunning himself in the centre of their pack grounds. He scoops the boy up just in time, still startling the wolf up onto his feet. He bares his teeth and settles back down as Patton apologises over and over, trying to contain the wriggling little thing in his arms. It’s a small blessing that Roman’s scent- much like Remus’s although the stink of human is harder to cover- is mostly just Patton’s by now. 

Virgil has had to adapt quickly either way because Logan doesn’t tolerate- hah- intolerance in his pack. The boys are part of their family, and will grow up loved according to his decree. So he leans forwards on his four paws and licks Roman’s hand to make him giggle before slinking off in the direction of his den. 

Patton just sighs in fond exasperation, rubbing his cheeks on Roman’s head. “What am I going to do with you then, little pup? You and your brother are making me old before my time!” He grins down at Roman’s sweet face, wiggling his fingers towards his nose to boop him. A throat clears beside him and Logan is there watching, inclining his head in greeting when Patton turns. 

Roman is handed between them when Logan offers his arms, hefting the boy onto his shoulders and wandering off, already on a lecture about some aspect of the world. He’s determined to teach them as much as quickly as possible, even though Patton is fairly sure they barely understand a word. It’s too heartwarming a sight to stop by saying anything though, and Patton leaves them to it to go and find his other mischief monster. 

The den is empty, but the sun is out and neither of his children are often able to resist the lure of sunshine so Remus is probably out wandering somewhere. Remy, on watch on top of the rise, nods his head and swishes his tail as Patton goes past, devoid of a little human playing around his feet. Emile is on washer duty and must be down by the river, which means... where is Remus? 

Don’t panic, Patton tells himself, but Remy’s head turns to sniff the scent on the air anyway. He hops down, fluidly shifting to land on two feet instead of four paws, and comes over quickly. “What’s the matter? Is it the boys?” 

“Remus is missing,” Patton admits breathlessly. Oh gods what if he’s run away, or been taken, or got _hurt_ -

“Alright, I’ll take a perimeter and you go and double check he’s not with Emile. Go, Pops,” Remy urges him, back on his paws as he lopes off to cover the wide boundary of their pack territory, nose in the air to sniff out any signs of their little human. 

Patton legs it to the river. He should shift but he’s grown so used to his human form being better for caring for his boys that he doesn’t think to in his panic. Emile looks up in surprise when Patton crashes through the bushes, and through the ringing in his ears Patton hears him ask what’s wrong. But more importantly Remus is also _not here_. 

Real alarm rising, Patton turns and runs off, stumbling through the trees and shouting for his son. Where is his boy?! 

“Alright, wolfy?” _Elijah._ “What’s your rush?” 

“Not now, drake. I’m looking for my son, he’s-”

“This son?” The Drake is smiling his usual enigmatic, frustrating smile when Patton rounds on him, but he’s cradling a softly snoring Remus in one of his pairs of arms. Patton sobs and reaches out, taking him and gently pressing kisses over his little face. “Oh you really were upset...” 

“What’s it to you, border keeper?!” Patton snaps, feeling bad immediately. “I’m sorry, it’s been... stressful. Where did you find him?”

Elijah shrugs, one of his hands pointing vaguely out into the forest. “I think he followed the river down, he was trying to catch a frog when I found him. He is unharmed, but he threw such a tantrum when I tried to take him with me that I had to give him some dreams.” He gazes at the boy with such fond awe that Patton is momentarily stunned. How curious. “I’ve duties to get back to. But- do let me know if you’re ever in need of a babysitter, would you? I found his energy uncommonly pleasant.” 

He glides off into the shadows once Patton mutely nods. 

Remy is called off the hunt and Emile reassured, and Remus gets a thorough scolding when he awakes again, but there is no harm done. 

Just another day parenting the twins, really. 


	3. Chapter 3

_“Why can’t we eat dirt?”_ Logan just blinks and patiently explains that it would taste bad and make them unwell. They’ve been unwell before; they wrinkle their noses and decide against testing that one out.

_“Why does the sun move?”_ Remy grimaces, rubbing between his eyebrows and stutters something about asking Logan. Logan’s explanations are usually too complicated so they just shrug and chalk it up to ‘one of nature’s mysteries’ as Patton says. 

_“How long would it take for us to walk over all of the ground?”_ Elijah grins sharply and tells them to try, and the scolding Patton gives the Drake later can be heard even back in the dens, after they’ve tired themselves out from walking back and forth for several hours.

_“Does darkness have a feel?”_ Emile tilts his head and thinks about it as they blink at him. It’s probably the feel of the light going away, he suggests, so no more warmth. Do they think it has a feel, he asks, and they frown at each other. Something to think about. 

_“Where did we come from?”_ Virgil nopes right out of that one, staring at them and calling for Patton with the panic in his voice only barely repressed. They huff and stomp their feet as their frazzled parent comes running, and slip away before he can catch them, off to get up to more mischief. 

“I swear they’re getting worse,” Virgil mutters, glancing at Patton as the other wolf bends over, hands on his knees and panting for breath. Patton just groans. 

* * *

Elijah is back in their part of the woods (he often is these days, though he denies there’s any special reason for it) when the twins come barrelling past the border rock. He catches them around their waists with his extra arms, holding them fast as they wriggle and protest the capture. “I do believe you two miscreants should be at home. Are you still running your family and that poor father of yours ragged then?” He asks, setting them down and letting them climb over his larger form to settle over his warm neck. 

Remus grumbles incoherently, leaving Roman to take the conversational lead. “We just want to ask questions. We have so many questions! But everyone is so tired and annoyed all the time.”

“We don’t even ask any of the difficult ones, either!” Remus interjects. Roman nods. 

“What difficult ones might those be, little wolves?” Elijah asks, starting up a lazy gait, winding through the trees along his usual border route. He feels them hesitate and probably look at each other, before clearly deeming him an appropriate person to trust with the truth. 

“We want to know why we’re different. From papa and the pack...”

“And from each other,” Roman adds in a whisper. “It doesn’t make any sense! But papa always just says we’re his little pups, and he won’t let us say we feel different!”

Ah. Elijah doesn’t wince because such things are below him, but he does feel momentarily sorry for all the parties involved. “Do you know why I walk the forest, little wolves?” He asks in lieu of answering just yet. 

“To keep the borders.”

“Yes, but why must the borders be kept, has your papa taught you that?”

Roman swings his legs. “I think Logan said it was because of dangerous folk? On the other side, trying to get in sometimes.”

“Very good. There are dangerous folk everywhere, but the border keeps us safe. I walk it to make sure such things as you two don’t end up happening. You cause me no end of trouble when you came to your pack, let me tell you. So many ruffled Fae to soothe, and the humans involved to boot...”

“What’s a human?” Remus asks. Elijah’s even pace pauses for a brief moment. Would Patton want him telling them this? Can they bear to wait any longer though? “Is it like a the dangerous folk?”

Elijah takes a turn, deviating from the longer route he will have to walk later in order to turn towards the wolves’ home. “Yes little one, it is. They are dangerous too, but they don’t know we are here. They must never find out about us, but the Fae like to play and sometimes things go wrong. You, Remus, are a human, through no fault of your own. A rarely pleasant one, in fact.” 

Twin one goes utterly still on his back, and Elijah steels himself for the next, inevitable question. 

Twin two pipes up on cue, small voice nervous. “Then... what am I?” He asks. 

“You are a Fae, Roman. A Faerie boy.” He stops then, twisting to slide them off so they stand side by side on the mossy ground of the forest and he can snake his head around to look at them. “But let me make a few things incredibly clear- you are brothers. You are pack, and you are good. Your origins do not change this.”

He can see by the way they shuffle and refuse to look at each other or him that it was exactly what they were wondering. “Do you know of any other Drakes in the forest, little wolves?” Elijah asks patiently. They shake their heads and finally look up at him. “That is because they do not play well with others. I too, an somewhat of an anomaly. A special case as it were. But I am not bad because I am a Drake, and I am no less a part of the forest because I was not born from it. It is mine and I belong to it now, because we chose one another, just like how your papa and your pack chose you two. Do you understand?” 

There is no reply, but Elijah is satisfied that they’re mulling the new information over at least. He lets them climb back on and brings them back to the dens, pulling his form in to walk hand in hand with them and lead them up to Patton, who reeks of bone-tired relief at the sight of his children. Elijah will have hell to pay when the pack finds out he has told the boys the truth, but he thinks it’s worth it, as he watches them cling to their father and each other, letting Patton hug them and kiss their faces, before ushering them away to their den. 

Logan meets his gaze from across the clearing and Elijah raises his chin. It’s enough that the old wolf knows what has happened, and Elijah slinks away quickly when Logan’s eyes flash bright and his lip curls up in a silent snarl. He’s lucky not to be chased out, but Logan has other priorities, and hurries to follow the boys and Patton instead. 

It will be a gruelling night ahead for them all. Elijah wishes them well with it. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: thinking about immortality/death

“Roman!” Logan’s voice rings out across the clearing that constitutes their home, but Roman keeps running. All he can hear is the way Patton had whispered the word ‘immortal’ along with his name. He knows what that means from long talks with Elijah about the Fae that live so near, yet so far away from the wolf pack. He already knew, distantly, that it could apply to him, but he also didn’t really _know_. 

He runs faster and faster, ignoring the answering howl of what sounds like at least three of the pack, summoned by Logan’s cry and racing after him on four paws. But he is an unfinished changeling; a Fae in disguise, and he has the speed of both turmoil and youth on his side, darting between trees and over bushes and making swift directional changes until he gets to the river and runs straight in. Hah! Good luck tracking him down that!

Roman lies down in the water and lets it speed him away, floating on the top with water in his ears that muffle the sounds of the world around him. He would close his eyes but his father’s- _not his father really_ \- Patton’s words ring in his head, urging him to stay vigilant and stay safe in the swift running stream.

After a minute or two of being whisked downstream he swims to the bank, pulling himself out and sitting there shivering, hugging his knees tight to his chest. He is alone except for the birds in the trees and the rustle of what sounds like maybe a squirrel or two somewhere behind him in the forest.

It’s the worst feeling in the world.

“Stop it, just stop it!” Roman yells at himself, clapping his hands over his ears and scrunching up tight, trying to drown the thoughts out with happy memories, but every time he thinks of playing with Remus or Patton’s hugs or Remy’s sneaky teaching of swear words the image twists and Patton is saying _immortal_ again in that same dread filled whisper and Logan is turning to see him standing there, eyes widening with a fear Roman never knew their calm and competent leader could even feel.

“I’m not immortal, I’m not! I’m the same as them, I-” his breath flees his chest. “I have to be. Please…” Something Elijah says sticks in his mind then. He talks of belonging to the forest, of being chosen by it and choosing it and he always seems to imply it is a being of its own. The wolves have no gods but the moon, if that counts, but Roman knows what the concept is and recalls with a soft, sobbed laugh the period in their youth that he and Remus had spent exploring the human idea that their god was everything. First a worm had been accused of hiding the deity, and then a leaf, and so on. Even Logan himself had been at one point denoted their temporary god, sighing in his fond but long-suffering way.

The concept wasn’t exactly sound but Roman wondered if they’d had it so wrong, if what Elijah said had any truth to it.

He kneels in the soft earth of the riverbank and splays his palms out in the cool dirt and grass, pushing his fingers in a little way until he fancies he can feel the beat of millions of lives underneath the surface against his fingertips. He closes his eyes and _prays_.

“Please let me be like them. Let me be like Remus. I don’t want to be alone forever, I want to be mortal and grow old and never be alone. Please, forest. Please please please.”

If it’s enough he doesn’t hear anything in return, but the panic has fled a little, and he feels a sense of calm rush over him at the vent that may or may not have anything to do with any actual sentience from the forest around him.

It helps though, so he can pick himself up and cross the river, starting the trek back upstream to where his family are no doubt going mad with worry. If it’s not one thing it’s another with him and Remus, so he mentally prepares his best apologies and hopes for a whole bunch of hugs.

He doesn’t see the glow of intrigued, inhuman eyes watching from the shadow of the trees behind where he’d knelt.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A moment looking through Logan's eyes...

The boys grow quickly from the time Logan first sees them, tiny and scared and clinging to Patton in the gloom of his den, to when things start to go, as the humans say; ‘pear shaped’. Why pears are apparently a bad shape for things to go, Logan isn’t sure, but the phrase does the trick and it has the added benefit of lightening the otherwise dark truth.

He loves them, very much. Remus is so quintessentially _human_ in everything he does that it fascinates Logan with the disordered, chaotic riskiness of it all. And Roman is surprisingly similar considering his own origins are so vastly different. Logan knows the border keeper likes to call them both little wolves, and has more than once complained about them stinking like wolf, but from Logan’s side he tends to only see the differences between the boys and the rest of his wolf-born pack.

Like the way Remus keeps his head high, unaware of the challenge he’s issuing just by doing so.

Or the way Roman stares at someone while he’s focusing on their words.

Or the way they both grin with their upper lips curled back as well as their lower ones in a grimace that should be a threat but somehow isn’t, or the way they don’t start to itch and itch and howl around the cycles of the moon… Not out of pure instinct, anyway.

But perhaps the Drake is right, because in so many other ways they are nothing but pack. Remus will howl endlessly with them, and they both know all there is to know of the pack’s culture. They spent many years trying to walk on all fours, and eat and speak and play like… well, _wolves_. And they are pack, regardless of where they came from. That, he made very clear when he declared Patton would be keeping them both as his own. As _their_ own. 

He really does love them very much.

The pack loves them too. Virgil had taken his time to warm up to them both, Roman in particular, until the boy had demonstrated virtually no elvish instincts whatsoever. Apart from the glowing of his eyes, which had faded after just a few weeks to a dull, cat-like shine at night, of course. Remy was a reluctant but secretly enthusiastic cool babysitter when called upon, and Emile often took it upon himself to guide them in matters that Patton was too close to be listened to on. Patton, of course, would happily burn the forest down on their behalf, and that had once scared Logan somewhat, this new loyalty that played against his loyalty to him, to his leader, to his pack. But now he understands, because they boys incite a very similar feeling in the older wolf as well. 

He had come to that realisation when Remus had first gone missing with the border keeper, and then had the truth of it slammed home when the two of them had been returned (again by that damned Drake, he’s always somehow involved) upset and hurt in a way that made Logan’s blood boil, mostly with how little he could help.

And that love makes it all the more difficult now that they’d found out about their origins. They need a calm, wise hand, but Logan is often blinded by love and _fear_. 

But now Roman has started to take himself off to the forest, away from his brother and his family, and Remus is acting more and more wolf, as though adopting the right behaviours will change facts, unaware of how it seems to be pushing Roman _further away_. Remus, Patton can handle. He responds as humans do to affection and careful direction. But Roman? 

Logan loves him, yes, but he is also afraid. 

Because he knows the Fae.

And he sees the shine in Roman’s eyes starting to brighten once more, disappearance by disappearance… 


	6. Chapter 6

"Roman wait-" Remus hisses, scrambling up out of the den after his brother. It's barely pre-dawn, and the dew is still fresh on the grass underfoot. Roman's quick, darting across the clearing of their den area and towards the forest, but Remus is determined to catch him, and tackles him around the waist before he could reach those thrice-cursed trees, as Logan calls them.

"Get off me!" Roman growls, struggling to get out of his brother's grip, straining towards the forest. "Let me go, Remus, get off!"

"No! I'm not letting you go today! Not today!"

"Remus I- off!" Roman kicks out and Remus flinches back with a yelp, clutching his leg.

Roman is up in a moment, about to dart off when Remus's soft whimper halts his flight. He turns to look back, his own eyes meeting Remus's as the sun starts to climb behind the distant mountains. Remus looks rough, even taking into consideration the fact that they'd just rolled around on the ground. He's missing a tooth- when had that happened?- and a new one is peeking out of the gum, ready to drop into its place. His face is pinched with pain, but it obviously isn't just his leg because that barely looks bruised.

Remus drops his head, unruly curls flopping over his face and hiding it from view. "Just go then, if you're so desperate to be away from m- from here," he croaks, pulling his knees up to his chest and hugging them tight.

"That's not what I want…" Roman says, but it's a weak protest when it's such a blatant lie. "I mean, it's not because of you. There's just more for me out there than here. I want to go and see it all. Don't you see?"

"No I don't!" Remus shouts, and when Roman crouches down to touch his shoulder he uncoils and shoves his changeling twin away hard, wiping a hand angrily over his face. "Because you never talk to me anymore! And you're… you're mean now! I never did anything but you always run away and you say mean things to papa Pat, and to the others, and you- you missed 'Lijah's visit last quarter moon! And you're forgetting…" He trails off, pulling himself to his feet and brushing the dirt and grass off. "Never mind. Go away."

Roman's mind turns quickly. "What am I forgetting?" He asks, genuinely uncertain. "Ree? What am I forgetting?"

"Nothing important, Roman," Remus mutters, starting back towards the den, back a tense line under his tunic. "Have fun in the forest."

The sun rises a little higher, illuminating the conflicted expression that twists Roman's young face, hiding away the subtle glow of his eyes. He watches Remus move away and feels the familiar, comfortable urge to run after him and chase and play, but it's quickly overwhelmed by the stronger tug of the forest calling him back.

He doesn't always remember what he spends all day doing in the forest alone, but he knows it isn't a call he can ignore, and his feet lead him off once more before he stops to think about it, back turned and missing the way Remus glances hopefully over his shoulder.

The human twin flees back to the den when he sees Roman disappearing off again, burrowing into Patton's arms, incoherent with tears.

After all, how could Roman _forget_ _their_ _birthday_?

* * *

When Roman returns as the sun is setting that night, he's stopped just before the treeline by a familiar long silhouette, twisting and pacing along the forest's edge, and apparently waiting for him.

"Little wolf," Elijah greets solemnly, no glittering mischief twinkling in his eyes this evening. He looks at Roman squarely and evenly, bending close to him to sniff once and then puff out a nicely warm cloud of smoke that made Roman cough more than it should have. "Come, you were missed," the Drake says, tone brooking no argument as he winds around behind Roman and nudges him towards the clearing with his nose, waiting for the boy to start walking again before lifting his head to glance once back in the direction the young Fae had come from. With a soft, disgusted snort, he follows Roman to where the rest of the wolves are waiting, sat around the central fire and chatting quietly.

"Good evening," Logan murmurs, standing up from his seat. Remus, sitting back against Patton's chest, doesn't look at his brother at all, and Patton just offers a shaky smile that doesn't help the horrible squirmy feeling in Roman's chest at all. "You've been gone a while, Roman."

The wolf looks at the Drake, and Roman looks around quickly to catch the silent communication, but Elijah's face is still stony, even in his newly-taken human-ish form. "Am I in trouble?" Roman asks cautiously. "Because you never said I should stop going to the forest, and you never said I couldn't go where I wanted, or when, or alone..."

"Roman. When was I supposed to do so? Before you left in the mornings, well aware you were doing something you weren't allowed to? Or after you returned late at night, when Patton had already gone to bed after waiting for you all day?" Logan's piercing eyes start to flare bright as his wolfish temper rises, and he takes a few deep breaths when Emile squeezes his hand from his seat nearby. "Besides, today of all days, I would have thought you might choose to be here so that we might have talked."

Roman stamps his foot. "I don't know why today is so special!"

"Ro, baby," Patton says slowly, easing Remus away so he can stand up and hurry over to his other son, kneeling in front of the boy and taking his hands. "It's your birthday. Don't you remember your birthday?"

"I-" Roman frowns, looking at all the of the concerned and serious faces. His brain is ringing a little and he shakes his head to clear it. "It's not today. It's not."

Elijah huffs from behind. "Say that won't change the truth, little wol-"

"I'm _not a wolf_!" Roman snaps, whirling on him with his teeth bared. Elijah is unmoved but alarmed, stepping forwards to grip Roman's chin tightly and raise his face to see it better. The Drake peers closely and intently for a moment as Roman protests and tries to shake him off. He's unsuccessful of course, and Elijah just grips the boy's shoulder and turns him, hands firmly gripping him in place for the pack to see.

Logan goes still, and Remus finally looks up, only to finally take in what had everyone else on edge. Poor Virgil had shifted in under a second, chest low to the ground, ears flat back, whining in the back of his throat even as Remy crouches to soothe him with a hand on his scruff.

Because Roman's eyes glow, stronger now, not the strength of a real Fae but bright and true, and certainly not a trick of the light. And in the light of the flames his teeth look... sharp.


	7. Chapter 7

"How can this have happened?!" Patton cries, pacing back and forth in front of the fire. He's furious, teeth sharp and hands clenched tight at his sides as he moves around. Logan stands tall, hands clasped together behind his back, his own emotions quietly, coldly, kept inside.

Elijah can almost taste them on the air.

Remus has been ushered away by Virgil and Remy, shaky and quiet from the shock of whatever it is that's happened to his brother. His brother, who is sat on the ground by the fire with Emile, and has been told in no uncertain terms not to move while the adults discuss matters. Elijah apparently counts here, because Logan had turned to him right away and asked what he thought, and Elijah had told them what he knew.

He'd told them that there were strong signs of contact with the Fae; that the borders were being kept less rigidly than they should be. There were border keepers running lax in their duties, perhaps paid by enterprising and sly Fae wishing to return to their old habits of preying on the solid world outside their own, perhaps simply complacent from too long without disturbance or issue.

That if they asked him, which they had, Roman had not been in the forest alone all this time.

"Why wouldn't he come to me?!" Patton howls, and Roman barely flinches over by the fire. Barely, but still he does, and Elijah bows his head momentarily against the acrid taste of horror and hurt. "I raised him, I love him, I keep- kept him safe!"

Logan rushes to his side when he drops in despair, but Patton has already shifted for comfort, belly low to the floor, ears flat back and whining quietly. "We can't allow this to continue, Elijah," Logan says instead, brushing his hands over a silky ear. "Roman is unsafe if it remains out there."

"Roman wouldn't be the only one," the Drake agrees mildly, eyebrows up as he watches the scene play out. "Remus is human. He's the tastiest thing in the forest to their senses, I'd imagine."

Patton's growl rumbles like thunder, soft and deep growing to a loud roar of sound. Elijah can't deny he flinches a little, swallowing thickly as those sharp teeth turn his way. "Don't blame me for answering your questions, wolf. I'm here to help."

"Then help," Logan snaps. "What can we do? We keep to our territory and we hurt no one. It has apparently left us entirely defenceless against outside interference! Help us, border keeper. Do your job."

"My job is to keep the borders. I enforce them. I don't have leave to go Fae hunting if there are issues. There are procedures, I can't just-"

Logan bares his teeth. "Then what use are you?"

Elijah scowls back and Emile clears his throat, hand still on Roman's shoulder. The boy is hunched over and looking miserable, the glow of his eyes visible in the near darkness even as he’s backlit by the flickering fire. "Maybe we can table this discussion until the morning? Roman should get some sleep. It's been a long day."

With a soft whine Patton shifts back, crouching by his son and lifting his chin gently to look him in the eyes. He visibly tenses when he sees the glow again, reminded of why he was so emotional, but admirably holds back any further reaction and offers Roman a small, sad smile. "Hey sweetie, let's go to bed, okay?" He murmurs, and when the boy sniffles and lifts his arms, Patton picks him up and carries him off towards his den. Emile looks back at the other two, still squaring off against each other.

"This is about Roman, and to some extent Remus as well," the usually soft-spoken wolf tells them both with steel in his voice. "Not about you two. We would all do well to remember that."

He leaves them with those words, following Patton as his own den is fuller than usual with Remus and the other wolves. Logan swallows and sits heavily by the fire, throwing a stick into it in an uncharacteristic display of emotion. He sighs and drops his head into his hands, and Elijah gingerly takes a seat next to him.

After a long minute of silent despair the wolf glances over, and the Drake is reminded how much younger than him all of them are. Even Logan, older than the rest by years he won't admit to, is still a child compared to Elijah. Patton, Virgil, Remy and Emile? Babies. The twins? Barely started the journey of life. And the Fae threaten all of them now.

"I understand, if you can't do anything about it," Logan says quietly. "It's not as though I was expecting us to run off and hunt this fiend down. Much as I might… _really_ want to."

"You are wolves," Eljah shrugs. "It's in your blood to fight back against whatever hurts you and yours."

Logan sags, rubbing at his eyes. "He smells so scared all the time, Drake. I don't think he even realises it. Remus is so hurt and Patton is making himself sick with worry and I can't do more than shout at the poor little one? What kind of pack leader am I?"

Well that sort of thinking just won't do. "A _good_ one. One who cares," Elijah snaps. "Or you wouldn't be sat with me now. Tomorrow, at first light, let Roman go where he wants. We will follow, your wolves can hunt. Leave Remus safe with whoever chooses not to come, and let your Patton off the leash. If I could taste his rage tonight then I’m sure you could, no doubt. It rivals your own."

The comment makes Logan smile. "He's a father, I would expect nothing less," he whispers, smothering a yawn quickly. "Alright. At first light," the wolf nods, standing to go. "Will you watch the clearing tonight?"

"I will. Go and sleep, wolf."

"Until tomorrow, Drake," Logan lifts his chin in respect, and pads away into the darkness, leaving Elijah by the fire, staring deep into the flames as the night stretches on.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Implied violence, talk of manipulation of a child/sort of gaslighting?

The next morning is grey and overcast, crisp with the chill of anticipation in the air. It doesn't look like anyone has slept particularly well when Elijah watches them appear one by one from their dens.

The night at least, had been peaceful. Whatever Fae, and it surely must be a Fae, is targeting the little wolf, it doesn't seem to have turned its desire towards the pack or the clearing just yet. Perhaps it is unaware of the tasty mortal child here, or perhaps it has other designs on Roman that go beyond simple desires.

Either way it is in dire straits now.

Elijah stretches, his second pair of arms bracing on his hips as he stretches the top pair up and readies himself for an exceptional day. Logan sits by Remy, overseeing the stoking of the fire and turning to discuss plans in an undertone with Virgil when he also appears. Emile slips between the dens as a wolf, bringing Remus out and ushering him to get his breakfast, a little hand in his fur. And it is little. For all he's amazed how much these children have grown in the short time he's known them; Elijah is forever stunned by how small they are.

It should've been their eighth birthday yesterday. Only a tenth of their oldest pack member's age and a lot less of his own. He remembers eight years ago as though it were yesterday, and it doesn't feel unlike it was, in all honesty.

Remus approaches him when he's finished eating, shuffling to press his nose to Elijah's belly and hug him tightly. It warms the Drake that he was chosen for this trust and comfort, and he picks the boy up to carry him over to his family, keeping him tucked close as the pack wakes up.

A hush falls when Patton and Roman leave their den. The little wolf is rubbing his eyes and clinging to Patton's hand, until he gets into the open air and he tenses. The wolves react almost instantaneously, hackles both literal and figurative raising on instinct as Roman's eyes start their glow and his head swings to face the direction of the forest, near enough spot on the place he'd appeared from the evening before. Patton's teeth are sharp when he bares them, toes curling into the soft earth in a vain attempt to hold back his fury.

So the hunt is on, then, Elijah thinks to himself, tasting the electricity in the air.

The hunt is on.

* * *

When they let him go to run Roman is quick, even with his shorter legs, but even so Patton keeps up easily. He has twice the amount of limbs, for one thing, and he's graceful as he lopes a few feet behind the transfixed boy, but most importantly he has every protective urge in him firing on all cylinders to keep him fast.

Logan lopes a little way behind them, with Remy and Virgil flanking off in the trees, silent shadows either side. Emile is staying with Remus, blanching at the idea of whatever might happen and volunteering quickly, and although Elijah had volunteered to stay behind they'd all known they would need him. 

The Drake is nowhere to be seen as they run but Patton is pretty sure he's only a little way behind, out of sight as their last resort. 

There's a soft splash as Roman crosses the river, and Patton bunches his muscles to take the leap, landing neatly on the other side and following his son onward downstream. Whatever awaits them must be close now, because the steady soft fall of Roman's feet is slowing, and he's casting his head around slightly, just barely side to side but enough to let the wolf know that he's looking for something. It's a worry, because despite their speed they really haven't gone far from the clearing, not in terms of the size of their forest home. It's still well within the pack boundary, and Patton's mind turns towards Remus, vulnerable and human and delicate, back at the clearing. 

Logan nips at his heels when he nearly trips in his brief moment of panic. It's both a comfort and an instruction, and Patton reluctantly follows him where he leads, dropping back away from Roman to remain out of sight, and if it turns out not to be a Fae; downwind as well for safety. It physically hurts the father to leave his son alone, but his pack leader has a plan and Patton could no more mutiny against Logan than he could turn into a bird and chirp. Especially not when this hunt will end with the renewed safety of both of his children, and the rest of his family.

Virgil brushes up beside them for a moment as they slow and pause by some bushes, butting his muzzle under Logan's in answer to the silent order the leader gives with a flick of his ears, before flitting off around the other side and making a wide arc around where Roman walks. He's no longer hurried, turning around with his terrible glowing eyes as he keeps moving deeper into the forest, searching for his bewitcher. 

All of a sudden Patton hears the sound of snarls and hissing in the distance and Roman flinches, sticking to a tree. Patton knows those snarls and readies himself for when Remy and Virgil burst through the trees towards them, which they do within seconds, herding a tall Fae in front of them. It keeps trying to climb into the trees but Remy is fast and Virgil is fierce, and together they force it to move forwards instead of up, driving it where they want it to go like the well-oiled hunting machine they are.

It turns and aims for the river instead with an inhuman shriek of frustration, but Logan gets there first, standing bristling in all his glory in the sunlight. He's a big wolf, courtesy of his age and status, and the Fae blanches and twists away along the path they've decided on, straight towards where Patton lies in wait.

When it shoots towards him through the trees Patton snaps his jaws towards its leg, hoping to bring it down swiftly, but the Fae slips around him somehow, sneakier than he'd given in credit for. There's nowhere for it to go with the rest of the pack (and the Drake it doesn't yet know about) still circling around to keep it trapped, but it can hide in the trees now that it has a chance to climb, disappearing into the foliage out of reach. Patton growls. Where is it?

"All of this for one child?" The Fae speaks, its voice soft and sweet and _sickly_. Patton whirls around trying to find it, but can't see anything yet. "He's a little Fae. What's a pack of dogs doing with one of my kind?"

"He's my son!" Patton snaps, shifting back quickly because growls were one thing but for this he wanted his voice back. He's spent the past however long scared and worried and helpless and his rage needs to be heard. "He's not your kind, he's _my son_."

"Curious. But selfish; you're keeping him from his people. And you stink of human, what sort of mongrel pack are you?" 

"Selfish?! I saved him when _his people_ abandoned him as a babe. He is _mine_."

Glowing eyes peer down from above him, and the Fae smiles with wicked sharp teeth, cocky as Fae are want to be. "Is he now?" it muses, sounding falsely thoughtful. "He was so easy to win though. Would a child of yours beg for affection from another if he were truly well cared for? I found him, you know, alone and lost in the forest, desperate enough to accept me as a friend the moment he saw me."

"You tricked him!" Patton snarls, pacing on the forest floor. He can't climb quick enough to grab it, and he can't jump high enough on two legs nor four. All he can do is stall for time, and luckily the Fae seems it wants to talk. "He's been spelled, don't think we don't know that. You're stealing him!"

"He wants to be stolen," the Fae shrugs. "He is sweet, and so full of delicious emotion. He speaks of his false family, how much he despises and resents you all, and the chains of your 'pack'. He's so willing to please, all it takes is an ear to listen and a few kind words and he will make such a good little helper when I-"

A large head swings through the trees as Elijah finally arrives, knocking the Fae out of its perch and onto the floor in front of Patton. It looks up, eyes wide with shock, as the wolf _lunges_. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus awaits his family's return at the dens.

The dens are quiet. Empty. Too empty, Remus thinks, walking around in a wide circle again. He doesn't really understand what's happening, and that's frustrating, and it makes him feel tight in his chest and wild in his hands, like he wants to run around and whack something but maybe also just be hugged really tight until everything is okay again.

But pa-pat is gone, and so are the rest, and so is _Roman_ , which is the worst thing of all.

Elijah says they're different, him and Ro. But are they really? They look the same, mostly. They grow the same, they like the same things (until recently when Roman started running away to the _woods_ instead of playing chase or catching bugs or-) and they live the same lives. Pa-pat always calls them his peasinnapod. Remus isn't sure what that means but it sounds like one thing, and if they're both one thing then they must be the same, so why are they different?

Think. Remus climbs the sentry hill above the top den, sitting on it and picking at the grass under him. They're different, but how?

"I have lighter hair sometimes?" He mutters, plucking at it thoughtfully. "And I have a space in my teeth now… and I like green leaves more than Ro. My fingernails are always dirtier too!" Good, good work! These feel… fixable. And if he can fix them then they can be the same again and Roman won't be running away anymore and everything will be _okay_ and _normal_.

Remus really wants everything to be normal.

He jumps up when he sees the trees shiver in the distance, a tell-tale sign of Elijah's approach. The wolves flit through the trees ahead of him, entering the clearing and milling around uncertainly. Only Patton isn't visible, until Elijah comes through the trees, carrying Patton who is clutching at Roman so tightly Remus can barely see his brother in the embrace.

"You're back!" He yells, leaping down the side of the rise and racing over to them. Virgil catches him, shifting fluidly back to his human shape and bending to stick and arm out, hushing him when he protests vehemently. It's not fair! He wants to see pa-pat and Roman!

"Remus?" Logan says, and Remus frowns at him when he crouches down, holding onto his arms with his big, warm hands. "This must be scary, but you're big enough to be told the truth. Roman is quite hurt, inside, and Patton is very scared. We need you to help out by being as quiet and careful as possible for a while, can you do that?"

Remus thinks his heart might vomit out of his mouth. He hopes not. That would be messy. And pa-pat hates it when they get sick. He nods though, because anything that makes Logan look that serious must be important.

When he feels his face start to crumple Logan is there, lifting him into one of his rare, wonderful hugs. They're like treasure, and Remus clings to the comfort, wrapping his whole self around Logan's torso, hiding his face in his shoulder as he sobs and Logan just gently rubs his back. It makes everything a little better, just like he'd hoped, and he tires himself out there, hiccuping tiredly until he starts to yawn. Logan carries him to his own den, unusually, curling up in the soft blankets and tucking Remus close, murmuring little things that he only half hears as he falls asleep.

* * *

Remus looks even younger when he's asleep. Logan runs a finger down his nose to watch it wrinkle in reflex, which makes him smile. Such a tiny, bright young life, already with such an odd and contrary start to living. He's so fierce, so determined and so loyal. Logan doesn't play favourites, ever, but he has to confess Remus is very much impressing him with how he's dealing with the situation. It's been so long since Logan had to be around children that he'd forgotten the flightiness, the swift hot tempers and the lack of control, but Remus is channeling a lot into bravery and righteousness and Logan has never been prouder.

He hopes it's enough, while Roman recovers. While Patton recovers somewhat too, after his own experiences. It had been a difficult day (week, month…) for them all, but when Patton had emerged with Elijah, expression stony and mouth sealed tightly shut as he gripped Roman like he was a part of him that had to be sealed to his own skin; Logan had known this would linger.

Roman is in dreams now though, he reassures himself. Elijah had done the boy a kindness with that, and he'll sleep for a while. Hopefully long enough for them to figure out what on earth to do, if there even _is_ anything to do, and long enough to Patton to get the wild protectiveness out of his system so the rest of them can get near enough to help.

Logan hadn't said, but the other part of why he had stopped Remus going to his father and brother was the way Patton had snapped at anyone who'd approached, bar the drake, not recognising even the oldest of pack. Logan hadn't dared find out if Remus qualified or not- it could have been devastating. Better to wait until the risk has lessened, and protect Remus from that little unfortunate side effect for as long as possible.

He brushes the boy's hair gently, shifting to get more comfortable, and beds in for a good long nap. He won't move until Remus awakes, and is confident the rest of the pack will sort themselves out. No doubt Patton has Roman in his own den by now. Maybe by the time Logan resurfaces he'll even let them in…

If there's one thing Logan has learned in all his long years; it would be that having hope is never a bad thing.


	10. Life Goes On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life after the hunt.

After their hunt the pack settles down again into routine normality. With one exception; Remus isn't allowed back into his home den just yet. Logan does his best to keep the boy entertained, and to his credit it works _almost_ perfectly. Remus is delighted to get to spend time with the old wolf and is surprisingly attentive and interested in all the complex answers Logan has for his questions. But Remus is still desperate to rejoin his family and is miserable without his brother's company, so sometimes even with all the people around him ready to take his mind off things he ends up just curled up in Logan's den, sniffling into the pack leader's chest for however long it takes to be coaxed back to smiles and distractions.

Remy babysits like a champ, and Virgil is often with them, staying as far from the little Fae as he can while trying not to make it too obvious. Elijah too has given up all pretense of carrying out his normal duties for the time being, and has all but moved in with the pack. He helps, just as often on six feet as two and rarely out of earshot of the clearing. Logan relies on him, fostering a new bond between the two oldest creatures that makes everyone smile. It's good for Logan to have friends, they all agree. 

Eventually Patton's hackles stop raising when someone approaches his son and Roman starts to look less dazed and blank and more alert, watching people from the mouth of the den but retreating inside when anyone gets too near, still an improvement on just not noticing them at all. The pair join the pack for breakfast one day and Remus upsets the careful harmony by bounding over and trying to fling his arms around Roman, who shrieks and jumps away in startled fear. The kerfuffle is over in a moment but leaves both boys sniffling, confused and sad without really knowing why or what had happened. Years down the line they'll start to understand better, but they're too young yet and recovery is more important than honesty, Logan decides. 

It doesn't stop Remus trying though. He approaches more cautiously each time, as though Roman were a deer in the forest ready to bolt, until one day he holds a hand out and Roman nudges his cheek into it with wide eyes, and then they settle together in Patton's lap for a gentle hug, twining together. Roman even curls his fingers into Remus' shirt, and they fall asleep, warm and safe and no longer apart. Poor Patton starts to sniffle himself, at the sight they make, eyes shining with relief and gratitude and love until the entire pack drifts over one by one to curl around them all protectively and bask in the emotions and comfort of being whole again.

The recovery lasts, in total, three months before everything is entirely back to normal. Elijah leaves to return to his work, looking none-too-pleased to have to go but feeling the implacable pull of the forest nonetheless. Patton rejoins Logan's side for most of his usual daily duties while the boys run around the clearing (and never further than the clearing, not without supervision at least). Even Virgil is unbothered by Roman's presence once again, and when Elijah reports back that the Fae are being dealt with they all celebrate and heave a sigh of collective relief. The issue of Roman's terror at his own lifespan is something Emile has started to work on with him, but it is manageable. There is help to turn to. 

And life for the five wolves, the human boy and his changeling twin, and the Drake that loves them dearly, goes on. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been a very fun story to write! I hope you've enjoyed this little segment of this AU, a snapshot into their lives. It was never quite meant to become a story with a little plot but there we have it! 
> 
> Thanks for reading and commenting :)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [A Human Life](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22979986) by [boredomsMuse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/boredomsMuse/pseuds/boredomsMuse)




End file.
